Russia and Iran prepare for joint military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz

Tuesday, April 30, 2019 10:00:20 AM

Russia and Iran are getting ready for joint military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s key oil “arteries” through which tankers from Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait, carry 20 million barrels of oil each day.

Within the next few months, Iran and Russia will hold joint naval exercises in the strait, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi told IRNA on Monday.

He explained that for this reason, Russian ships will be arriving to Iran’s southern ports.

A fifth of the world’s oil production and about a third of the world’s “black gold” exports pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz if US sanctions make it impossible for Iran to ship its oil through the strait.

The same threats were repeated on Monday by Chief of Staff for the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mohammad Bagheri.

“If our oil cannot be transported through the strait, then neither will the oil of other countries,” he said, adding that Tehran “has no intention of blocking the strait,” if the hostilities of other countries do not provoke it to do so.

Russian-Iranian relations will continue to evolve regardless of Western pressure on Iran and Russia, Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Konstantin Kosachev commented on Monday.

Cooperation between the two countries is growing at all levels in an intense and practical way. A “very powerful political dialogue,” is taking place between the presidents and relevant ministers of both countries, Kosachev said at a meeting in Moscow with Head of Iran’s Foreign Policy Strategic Council Kamal Kharrazi.

He added that the decision of the US to withdraw from the “nuclear” deal with Tehran and restore the embargo on Iranian oil is “an obvious violation of the UN Security Council resolution.